Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks and Guido Petti of Argentina fight for a lineout ball. Photo / Photosport
Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks and Guido Petti of Argentina fight for a lineout ball. Photo / Photosport
All you need to know ahead of the All Blacks clash against Argentina at the Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires.
All Blacks v Argentina, Sunday 30 September, 11.40am kickoff
The All Blacks announced a strong side to face the Pumas as they look to bounce back from their disappointingloss against South Africa two weeks ago.
Halfback Aaron Smith, prop Owen Franks, centre Jack Goodhue and fullback Jordie Barrett – who made a high-profile error in Wellington last time out – were rested, in an otherwise strong looking side.
Shannon Frizell will replace the injured Liam Squire on the blindside flank and Luke Whitelock will play No 8 in Kieran Read's absence (Sam Whitelock takes over the captain's armband). Meanwhile, Sonny Bill Williams returns to the starting XV after recovering from a shoulder injury and tonsillitis to partner up with Ryan Crotty in midfield.
In the lead up to the test, Steve Hansen was already looking to next year's World Cup, saying games against Argentina and South Africa provides good practice for the tournament in Japan.
"We wanted to pick a strong side and we believe the back three players we've picked are what we're looking for," Hansen said of the selection of Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo – the latter not selected for the defeat by the Boks.
"On top of that, we're doing a little practice for the future," he said. "We think if we're good enough to get through the round-robin at the World Cup and we want to advance deep into that tournament we need to play at least two big games in a row to get to the final.
"We see Argentina and South Africa giving us the opportunity to practice. One of the things we wouldn't be doing at the World Cup is making a lot of changes so we haven't made a lot this week."
Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks and Guido Petti of Argentina fight for a lineout ball. Photo / Photosport
Teams
Argentina:
1: Nahuel Tetaz-Chaparro 2: Agustin Creevy 3: Ramiro Herrera 4: Guido Petti 5: Tomas Lavanini 6: Pablo Matera 7: Marcos Kremer 8: Javier Ortega-Desio 9: Gonzalo Bertranou 10: Nicolas Sanchez 11: Matias Moroni 12: Bautista Ezcurra 13: Jeronimo De Le Fuente 14: Bautista Delguy 15: Emilliano Boffelli
Reserves: Julian Montoya, Juan Pablo Zeiss, Santiago Medrano, Matias Alemanno, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Tomas Cubelli, Matias Orlando, Sebastian Cancelliere
All Blacks (caps in brackets)
1. Karl Tu'inukuafe (7) 2. Codie Taylor (36) 3. Ofa Tuungafasi (20) 4. Samuel Whitelock (103) - captain 5. Scott Barrett (23) 6. Shannon Frizell (3) 7. Sam Cane (58) 8. Luke Whitelock (6) 9. TJ Perenara (49) 10. Beauden Barrett (67) 11. Rieko Ioane (18) 12. Sonny Bill Williams (47) 13. Ryan Crotty (39) 14. Waisake Naholo (22) 15. Ben Smith (72)
Reserves: 16. Nathan Harris (16) 17. Tim Perry (3) 18. Angus Ta'avao * 19. Patrick Tuipulotu (17) 20. Ardie Savea (29) 21. Aaron Smith (77) 22. Richie Mo'unga (2) 23. Anton Lienert-Brown (28)
Head-to-head
Matches played: 27 All Blacks won: 26 Draw: 1 Last match: All Blacks 46-24 Argentina (September 8, 2018) Largest All Blacks winning margin: 93-8 (1997)
Odds
The All Blacks are paying $1.08 at the TAB to take the test in Buenos Aires, while a Pumas upset will give you $7.
How to watch
The Herald will be live blogging the test while Radio Sport will also have live commentary. Sky TV's live coverage starts at 11am.
Opta Facts
• New Zealand have beaten Los Pumas by a double-figure margin in their last five games hosted in Argentina, averaging 39 points scored per match in this time.
• New Zealand will be out to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time 2011 after going down 36-34 to South Africa last round; they trailed at halftime in both these losses in 2011 and trailed at halftime in the fixture against South Africa.
• Argentina will be gunning for back-to-back wins at home for the first time since 2016, after beating South Africa 32-19 in Round 2 of The Rugby Championship this year.
• New Zealand are the only side yet to lose a scrum this tournament (22/22), while Argentina have the worst success rate of any team in this facet (75%).
• Argentina (65) have scored the most first half points of any team this tournament and also have the best first half points difference on aggregate (+16), having shipped just 49 first half points.
